Could COVID-19 be a Catalyst for Disruption in Higher Education?

Authors

  • Raffaella Borasi Warner School of Education, University of Rochester (Rochester, NY, USA)
  • Richard DeMartino Saunders College of Business, Rochester Institute of Technology
  • David E. Miller
  • Nathan Harris

Abstract

Advances in digital technologies have already transformed numerous industries, leading scholars to predict that online learning technologies would cause similar disruption in higher education. While these predictions have yet to be realized, will the COVID-19 pandemic change the situation?  This conceptual paper will draw from the authors’ complementary expertise in entrepreneurship, pedagogy, business and higher education organizational theory to address this question.  Using their disciplinary lenses and building on relevant literature in their field, each author will first identify key forces impacting change in higher education, and then discuss potential implications of faculty and students’ recent experience of remote teaching vis-a-vis those forces.  While highlighting the potential of the COVID-19 pandemic to accelerate disruption for higher education, the chapter will also suggest new ways in which universities may leverage the current experience to inform innovations that can actually strengthen their institution.

Author Biographies

  • Raffaella Borasi, Warner School of Education, University of Rochester (Rochester, NY, USA)

    RAFFAELLA BORASI, Ph.D., is the Frederica Warner Professor of Education at the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester (Rochester, NY, USA). After serving for 18 years as the dean of the Warner School, Borasi founded and is now directing the Center for Learning in the Digital Age (LiDA) – whose mission is to help educators leverage digital technologies through a combination of research projects, program offerings, networking opportunities, and services.  Originally trained as a mathematics educator, overtime Borasi expanded her expertise to include teacher education, education reform, entrepreneurship in education, and learning in the digital age.  In her role as dean, Borasi led the start-up of online offerings in her school, which resulted in over 60 online offerings within the first two years.  She also successfully launched a program to prepare online instructors, which has produced over 30 graduates to date.  Her publication record includes five books, 12 book chapters, 23 peer-reviewed articles, as well as numerous practitioner articles and multi-media products. Email: rborasi@warner.rochester.edu

  • Richard DeMartino, Saunders College of Business, Rochester Institute of Technology

    RICHARD DEMARTINO, Ph.D., holds the Albert J. Simone Endowed Chair for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and is a faculty member in the Saunders College of Business. He also serves as the director of the Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which promotes innovation and entrepreneurship education and activity throughout the RIT community. DeMartino's research and teaching interests include radical innovation, technology commercialization, entrepreneurial motivations, and small business growth.  DeMartino has published extensively in business and entrepreneurship journals, and received external funding from the Kauffman Foundation, US Department of Commerce, National Science Foundation, VentureWell, and NY Empire State Development. His current administrative responsibilities include promotion of the RIT Innovation and Entrepreneurship eco-system where he has developed various incubation and acceleration education programs.  Email: rdemartino@saunders.rit.edu

  • David E. Miller

    DAVE MILLER, Ed.D., is a Clinical Associate Professor of Education at the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester (Rochester, NY, USA), where he also serves as Associate Director for the Center for Learning in the Digital Age (LiDA).  Miller’s expertise includes an unusual combination of technology, business, entrepreneurship and teaching.  A textbook author and former owner of a start-up edtech company, Miller now teaches a variety of online courses at the Warner School, directs the Warner program preparing K-12 digitally-rich teachers, supports other Warner faculty in designing and teaching online courses, and serves on the Steering Committee of the K-12 Digital Consortium – a K12-university collaboration between the LiDA Center and 21 local school districts involved in instructional technology innovations.

  • Nathan Harris

    NATHAN HARRIS, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester (Rochester, NY, USA). In his research and teaching, Harris explores problems of university governance and leadership through the conceptual lens of organization theory. His research foci includes the leadership and management behavior of academic deans, the antecedents of ethical misconduct in colleges and universities, particularly in admissions and athletics, and the ways in which academic leaders engage their senior administrative teams. His research has been published in New Directions for Higher Education and Planning for Higher Education and his commentary has been featured in numerous media outlets, including the Chronicle of Higher Education. Prior to earning his doctorate at the University of Michigan, Harris worked as a senior analyst at The Corporate Executive Board in Washington, D.C. and a special assistant at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Published

2021-08-23

Issue

2021: Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education during COVID-19

Section

COVID-19 and Global Higher Education (Completed)

How to Cite

Could COVID-19 be a Catalyst for Disruption in Higher Education?. (2021). Comparative & International Education Series. https://ojed.org/cies/article/view/2826